A step closer to fusion reactor

By running a steady-state long-pulse high-confinement plasma operation at 104 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds, Chinese scientists achieved a new world record with a device known as the “artificial sun” Monday, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) was developed by the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of CAS in Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province.

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). Photo from Xinhua

“Being able to sustain a high-confinement plasma operation and a plasma temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius for such a long duration is unprecedented worldwide,” said Gong Xianzu, head of the institute’s EAST Physics and Experimental Operations. ”EAST is a scientific experimental device, and our ultimate goal is to build a commercially viable nuclear fusion reactor,” he added.

Gong explained that three conditions must be met to build a fusion reactor using the EAST device: sufficiently high temperature, sufficiently high plasma electron density, and a long enough duration of energy output.

“Only when these conditions are met can we achieve fusion reactions, which are necessary for fusion energy output,” said Gong.

He said that there is still a significant gap between the experimental device and commercially viable fusion devices.

Within stars primarily composed of plasma, nuclear fusion reactions occur constantly to generate light and heat. Since the mid-20th century, humanity has researched controlled experimental nuclear fusion devices to mimic that of stars. (Xinhua)